News Staff

RUIDOSO -- Residents of Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs learned Saturday that they will be allowed to return to the communities beginning Monday. Local, full-time residents only will be allowed to begin entering Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs at 8 a.m.

RUIDOSO DOWNS -- Entries have been taken and processed for trials next weekend for the $1-million Rainbow Futurity at Ruidoso Downs Race Track. “We are proceeding with making plans as scheduled,” General Manager Rick Baugh said.

School is out, the children’s brains have begun to gleefully rot and summer vacations are upon us. As I write to you, I am preparing for a glorious two weeks away, heading to Southern California for a classic Griswold family vacation.

Today is Sunday, June 23, the 175th day of 2024. There are 191 days left in the year.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Devon Energy and the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation hosted more than 80 educators recently at a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Summit in Oklahoma City, Okla.

ARTESIA -- An Artesia woman was arrested last weekend after fleeing from police following a domestic incident. Around 3 a.m.

ARTESIA -- An Artesia woman who was awaiting trial on multiple charges relating to a series of October 2023 auto burglaries on the campus of Artesia High School (AHS) has died. Duvan Gerardo, 28, was arrested Oct.

ROSWELL -- A Roswell man was arrested on charges of murder Friday following a shooting at an apartment complex in the southwest part of the city. Paul Ybarra-Romero, 40, stands charged with first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault upon a household member, and three counts of child abuse in connection with the shooting death of 26-year-old Christopher Bargas. Roswell Police Department (RPD) officers were dispatched around 11:30 p.m. Friday to the Valle Encantada Apartments in the 2000 block of South Sunset Avenue in response to the shooting. There, they found Bargas unresponsive inside an apartment with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported by EMS to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

SANTA FE – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office recently held a competitive oil and gas lease sale, offering 19 parcels covering 3,128 acres in New Mexico and Kansas. In total, 451 bids were received, with 14 parcels covering 2,768 acres leased, roughly 88.5% of the total acreage available.

ARTESIA POLICE DEPARTMENT June 21 DOMESTIC 2:58 a.m. - Officer dispatched to the 600 block of North 14th Street in reference to a verbal domestic dispute.

ARTESIA -- The Artesia City Council will hold a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday. No public hearings are on the agenda.

The Artesia Arts & Cultural District recently finished the 11th mural in our Downtown Mural Program! “Dancing Downtown” is also the third mural in our Student Mural Program and was designed by recent Artesia High School graduate Savana Watts. Project leaders/art instructors/ artists Brandi Cox and Juli Newton worked with art students Watts, Andrea Alvarado and Alison Greene to install the mural on the west wall of The Derrick Floor sculpture park's pump house.